This guide covers employment law in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has a separate system.
In brief: Employees normally need two years' continuous service to claim ordinary unfair dismissal. For dismissals taking effect on or after 1 January 2027, that falls to six months. Many automatically unfair dismissal claims require no minimum service, and a discriminatory dismissal can be challenged under the Equality Act 2010 without a qualifying period.
Last updated: July 2026
By Yerty | Based on the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Employment Rights Act 2025 and current government implementation guidance.
If you have been dismissed after a few months in a job, the question that matters is whether you can do anything about it now. The answer turns less on how long you worked there than most people expect, and more on why you were dismissed.
This guide sets out the qualifying period as it stands today, the claims that carry no minimum service requirement, and what changes on 1 January 2027.
Important: This guide provides general information about employment law in Great Britain and does not cover Northern Ireland. Yerty is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Every situation is different. If you have been dismissed and are unsure whether you qualify, consider speaking to a solicitor about your circumstances.
Who Unfair Dismissal Protects
Ordinary unfair dismissal protection applies to employees. It does not generally extend to everyone classified as a worker, or to self-employed contractors, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 does not presently change that.
If you are on an agency, casual or zero-hours arrangement, your employment status may itself be in dispute, and a tribunal can determine it as a preliminary issue. Our guide to what happens at a preliminary hearing explains how that works.
The Qualifying Period Today
To bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim, an employee currently needs two years' continuous service. That remains the position until 1 January 2027.
There is no general day-one right to claim ordinary unfair dismissal. There are, however, a substantial number of dismissal claims that carry no minimum service requirement at all, and for a short-service dismissal those are usually the more important question.
Claims That Do Not Require Two Years' Service
Automatically unfair dismissal
Section 108 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 imposes the ordinary qualifying period but contains exceptions. Where one of the specified grounds applies, no minimum service is required. These include dismissal where the reason, or principal reason, is that you:
- made a qualifying protected disclosure, commonly called whistleblowing
- were dismissed for a prohibited reason connected with pregnancy, childbirth, maternity leave or another relevant family-leave right
- asserted a relevant statutory employment right, such as claiming unlawful deductions from wages or asking for a statutory written statement of employment particulars
- sought to enforce rights such as the National Minimum Wage or holiday entitlement
- were dismissed for a protected trade union reason, including certain union membership, activities or protected industrial action
- took protected action, or made protected representations, concerning health and safety
What matters is the reason for the dismissal, not simply that you did one of these things at some point. A qualifying protected disclosure, for example, has to meet statutory conditions, and the dismissal has to be because of it.
Our guides to automatic unfair dismissal and the 60 grounds for automatic unfair dismissal set out the grounds in full.
Discrimination
A discriminatory dismissal is a separate cause of action under the Equality Act 2010, not a form of automatically unfair dismissal. The legal tests, the remedies and the way compensation is assessed all differ, though one dismissal can give rise to both claims.
There is no qualifying period. The protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Which forms of prohibited conduct apply depends on the statutory provisions relevant to the characteristic in question.
Wrongful dismissal and contract claims
Wrongful dismissal does not examine whether the employer had a fair reason. It asks whether the dismissal breached the employment contract, most often by failing to give the required notice or notice pay. There is no qualifying period.
The tribunal's jurisdiction over contract claims is limited. It can only hear claims arising or outstanding on termination, and its award for contract claims is capped at £25,000. Higher-value claims go to the civil courts, where different time limits apply. Our guide to wrongful versus unfair dismissal covers the distinction.
Our guide on unfair dismissal under two years looks at short-service dismissal in more detail.
What Changes on 1 January 2027
| Now | From 1 January 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period | Two years | Six months |
| General cap on the compensatory award | Lower of £123,543 or 52 weeks' gross pay | Removed |
The reduced qualifying period applies to dismissals taking effect on or after 1 January 2027. For a dismissal whose effective date of termination falls on or after that date, an employee will generally need six months' continuous service rather than two years. The relevant date is normally the effective date of termination, not the date the employer announced the decision, which matters where notice is given in 2026 but expires in 2027.
Service already accrued counts. An employee who started work by around 1 July 2026 may have six months' continuous service by 1 January 2027, depending on the precise dates and the continuity rules. It does not mean everyone hired after July 2026 qualifies from January.
The government's economic analysis estimates that around 6.3 million more employees come into scope, and describes this as the measure expected to have the largest impact on the existing employment tribunal system.
Two points on the compensation cap. Statutory exceptions to it already exist for certain dismissals, including whistleblowing and health and safety cases, which are uncapped now. And removing the general cap will not make compensation automatic or larger by default. Awards remain based principally on proven financial loss, subject to mitigation, causation, contributory conduct and other applicable reductions.
For the full commencement timetable, see our guide to what the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes and when.
Time Limits
Time limits are strict, and they are changing before the qualifying period does.
For an unfair dismissal whose effective date of termination falls before 1 October 2026, the usual limit is three months less one day. For dismissals on or after 1 October 2026, the usual limit will generally be six months. The change is not retrospective, and where a claim rests on a series of acts, the last act must fall on or after that date.
Contract claims are on a slightly different track. The order extending the limit for breach of contract and wrongful dismissal claims applies to England and Wales only, because the equivalent Scottish provision rests with Scottish Ministers. The government expects a corresponding change in Scotland to take effect in mid-November 2026, so there will be a short period during which the position differs on either side of the border.
You normally have to notify ACAS for early conciliation before presenting a tribunal claim, unless an exemption applies. Early conciliation affects the calculation of the filing deadline and can extend it, but do not simply add the conciliation period to the original date. Check the statutory calculation and the dates on the certificate. Our guide to ACAS early conciliation explains the process.
Late claims are sometimes accepted, but the test depends on the type of claim. Unfair dismissal generally uses whether it was reasonably practicable to present the claim in time. Discrimination generally uses whether it is just and equitable to extend. Neither is a formality. Where a claim is presented late, the tribunal will usually determine the limitation question as a jurisdictional issue, often at a preliminary hearing.
Different claims can also run from different events. Check the deadline for every claim you may have rather than assuming the unfair dismissal calculation applies to all of them.
If You Have Read That Day-One Rights Exist
The phrase is still widely used, and it means two different things depending on who is using it.
Day-one protection from ordinary unfair dismissal was proposed while the Employment Rights Act 2025 was still a Bill. It did not survive into the Act, which sets a six-month qualifying period from January 2027 instead. Commentary published before the Act became law, and some published since, still describes it as introducing day-one rights for ordinary unfair dismissal. It does not.
Separately, the automatically unfair grounds and discrimination claims set out above genuinely do apply without a qualifying period, and are often described as day-one protections. Those are real and long-standing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I need to work somewhere to claim unfair dismissal?
Two years' continuous service for ordinary unfair dismissal. For dismissals taking effect on or after 1 January 2027 this becomes six months. Many automatically unfair dismissal grounds require no minimum service at all.
Are there day-one unfair dismissal rights in Great Britain?
Not for ordinary unfair dismissal, which currently requires two years' service. Many automatically unfair dismissal grounds, such as certain whistleblowing and family-leave cases, require no minimum service, and discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010 have no qualifying period.
Can I claim if I was dismissed after six months in 2026?
Not for ordinary unfair dismissal, as the two-year period applies to dismissals taking effect throughout 2026. You may still have a claim if the reason for dismissal fell within an automatically unfair ground, if it amounted to discrimination, or if you were not given the notice your contract required.
Does my current service count towards the six-month rule?
Yes. Service already accrued counts. An employee who started work by around 1 July 2026 may have six months' continuous service by 1 January 2027, depending on the precise dates and continuity rules.
Does unfair dismissal protection apply to workers as well as employees?
Ordinary unfair dismissal protection generally applies to employees. It does not extend to everyone classified as a worker, or to self-employed contractors. Where status is disputed, a tribunal can determine it as a preliminary issue.
What is the time limit for bringing an unfair dismissal claim?
Three months less one day from the effective date of termination where that date falls before 1 October 2026, and generally six months where it falls on or after that date. ACAS early conciliation is normally required first and affects how the deadline is calculated.
Is the qualifying period the same in Scotland?
Yes. Unfair dismissal law applies across England, Wales and Scotland. Tribunal procedure differs in some respects, and the extension of time limits for contract claims is expected in Scotland in mid-November 2026 rather than on 1 October. Northern Ireland has a separate system.
Sources
- Employment Rights Act 1996, sections 94, 98, 108 and 124 — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18
- Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36) — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/36
- Equality Act 2010, section 4 — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/4
- The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2026 — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/348
- "Employment Rights Act 2025", ACAS — https://www.acas.org.uk/employment-rights-act-2025
- "Dismissal: your rights", GOV.UK — https://www.gov.uk/dismissal